1999-2019: Celebrating 20 Years of Ripples
Ripples #1057: Let Go!
Aug 26, 2019
PEBBLE
Letting go doesn’t always equate to you losing or missing out. You’re growing, you’re shedding, you’re becoming. -Alex Elle, shared by Pete in Manchester, NH
BOULDER
What is needed to amend the soil of your life garden? Letting go of what you no longer need is like compost for new growth.
-The Dreaming Realm via Kiva Lodge, shared by Lauranne in Madison, WI
PONDER
I’ve been zipping about helping new students embark on the next chapter in their lives as they start college (a ripply welcome to several new Chips from Central Michigan & new Panthers from Plymouth State who are also new Ripplers!). In my talks this fall, I’ve slipped in three questions that have served me well whenever I’m going through CHALLENGE and/or CHANGE:
What is it time to let go of?
What might be important to hold on to?
What could be useful to look forward to?
I thought I’d unpack these three questions over the next three weeks, and it makes sense to start with LETTING GO. I find that any time we’re enduring a challenging chapter in our life, especially one that includes change, we often have an instinct to cling to the familiar at the precise moment when it is time to let go of the way things used to be. While it seems reasonable to reach for the comfort of familiarity when we are feeling anxious or afraid, any growth involves change–which requires stepping into the unfamiliar.
Another opportunity for letting go presents itself when life unfolds differently than we were hoping or expecting. I’ve crossed paths with several new students who are struggling with a dark cloud that hovers over what they hoped would be a bright, shiny new chapter in their life. For some it is the death of a loved one; others are dealing with the untimely end of a relationship, and more than a few are recovering from an illness/injury that has impacted their summer and looms over the fall. These events are worthy of disappointment and/or frustration; in fact, sadness and anger are natural, healthy reactions to loss. It’s just that the sooner we grieve the loss of how we thought things were going to go, the more room we’ll have in our heads and hearts to embrace the life that awaits us.
Is there a way you need to LET GO? If so, let this be an invitation to take the next step in the process. It might not be easy, but I’m guessing it will be worth it.
Peace,
Paul
The Ripples Guy
